Box tongs



July 3, 1.923. 1,460,730

B. PHELPs l Box ToNGs Filed Jan. 5, 1922 I l V 3? v l I Juve/nto@ Patented July 3, 1923,

Unirse stares maaar BYRON PHELPs, or SEATTLE, WASHINGTON, AssieNon or oNnJTALr To ADoLrjH BRAND, or SEATTLE, WASHINGTON.

attain Box ToNGs.

Application led January 5, 1922; Serial No. 527,101;

To au whom t may concern: Y n

Be it known that l, BYRON PEnLrs, a cit1 zen of the United States, residing at Seattle,

in the county of King and State of Wash a certain new and use- 5 ington, have invented of which ful Improvement in BoxTongs, the following is av specification.

My invention relates to improvements in box tongs, and the object of my invention 1o is to provide box tongs of the typeadapted for use in facilitating and expediting the handling of boxes containing fruit, general merchandise or the like, which tongs may be attached to or operativelyT secured upon the box to be handled with the maxi-' mum facility and in the minimum time and that may be detached therefrom with similar facility and dispatch.

Another object is to provide box tongs embodying' novel adjustable lmeans whereby boxes of varying sizes may be handled with equal facility and celerity.

' A further object is to provide box tongs` box tongs embodying thel features of lmy.

invention;

Fig. 2 is a top view of the same;

Fig. 3 is a detached perspective view in side and end elevation of the hinged or movable gripping member of my tongs;

Fig. 4 is a view in transverse section taken substantially on a broken line 1 -l of Fig. 1;

justable with my invention, and

Fig. 6 is a top plan view of the same.

Referring to the drawings, throughout which like reference numerals indicate like parts, the numeral 10 designates box tongs which are shown in a substantially operative or gripping position upon a box, as 11, which box is illustrated in dotted lines.

The box tongs 10 comprise a relatively Fig. 5 is a view in side elevation of ad` box tongs fabricated lin accordance rigid or stationary gripping member hinged or movable gripping member 13 and a tubular hand hold 14.- f

The lixed grippingmember 12 isformed tok steel rod substantially into the shape and' by bending one piece or length of iron or form illustrated inFig. 1, said member com-v prising an upwardly extendingl angularly disposed portionfl, a horizontallydisposed i handle portion 16, a downwardly extend! ing angularly disposed portion17,fan out-v wardly extending horizontally disposed p1ortion 18 anda downwardly extending jaw or box' engaging portion 19, which portions are disposed in relative prolongationy and alignment to each other, as shown in Fig. 2.

To positively insure and assure of the jaw portion 19 engaging the box 11 when the tongs 10 are operatively disposed `there-l on, I have formed and provided the lower end of said portion with` an inwardly Ibent claw portion 20, which-claw is adaptedto bite into the wood "of the box 11 when the same is engaged and elevated, as will 'be 80 readily apparent. However, if desired said terminal portion v may be provided with teeth to thereby still further insure of the vmore positive biting vengagement of the same in the walls of the said box. f Y' y Formed upon lthe lower end of ,they upwardly extending angularly disposed portion 15 is a flattened terminal portion 21,`

which portion is adapted-to operatively re# ceive the hingedly mounted gripping mem` v berv 13.

The hinged) gripping member 13 is formed by bending `onelplece or length of iron or steel bar substantially in thev shape `and manner illustrated in Figs. f1v 'and 3, said member comprising an upwardly extending angularly disposed portion 22, a horizontally disposed portion. 28 fand a downwardly extending jaw or box engaging portion 24, which portions are disposed in relative prolongation and alignment as shown more clearlyinlFig. '3. f v

Formed within the-horizontally disposedv portion 23 of the member 13 adjacent the inner end thereof is amedially andl longitudinally ldisposed slot 25, which' slot 25 is adapted to receive the flattened terminal portion 21 of the fixed gripping member 12, vwhich terminal portion 25 is adapted to normallyextend .downwardly through said slot, as shownvv in Fig. 1.

iio y lTo positively retain and maintain the inv `ner end oi' the hinged gripping member 13 upon the terminal portion 21, I have pro-` vided said terminal portion adjacent thf` lower end thereof with a transversely dis posed pin 26, which pin is adapted t-o extend outwardly from the sides of said por- 'tion a su'tcient amount to thereby engage the underside ot said rinner end of said gripping member 13, as shown more clearly in' Fig. 4.

The upwardly extending angularly disposed portion 22 of the hinged gripping member 13 is adapted to function as a stop y'for said member when the same is in an inoperative position, as shown by dotted 'lines-in Fig. l.

27, which claw portion is adapted to bite `be concentrically and longitudinally disinto Athe wood of the box k11, when the same is engaged and elevated. Said claw portionmay be also provided with teeth, in order to insure a better biting engagement with. wall of said box, as will be readily understood. v

The tubular hand hold 14 is adapted to posed upon the horizontally disposed handle portion 16 of the fixed grippingk member 12, to thereby insure and provide a more substantial grip for the operator.

In use the operator appliesthe ybox tongs 10 to the box 11, by lirst engaging the claw portion-27 of the hinged gripping member 13 in the end of the wall of said box, he then lowers the other end of said tongs to permit of the claw portion 2O of the iixed gripping member 12 engaging the opposite lend wall of said box, which box may then f be yelevated and transported to the desired point.

In Figs. 5 and 6 I have shown an adjustable box tong 30, which tong is fabricated in accordance with my invention and is shown as applied to a box 31, which box is illustrated in dotted lines, I have also shown in dot and dash lines in Fig. 5 the tongs 30 in an extended or longitudinally adjusted position to handle a longer box, as 32.

The adjustable tongs 30 comprise a tubular hand hold 33, a pivotally mounted gripping member 34, a longitudinally adjustable gripping member 35, and a clamping screw 36 for said gripping member 35. The gripping member 34 is formed substantially in the shape and lmanner disclosed in Fig. 5, and is adapted to be pivotally secured at its inner end within one end of the tubular hand hold 33, as by a pivot pin 37, while the outer end of said gripping member 34 is provided with a downwardly extending jaw or box engaging portion 38, which portion is provided upon its lower end or terminal with a claw 39 adapted to bite into the wood of the box 31, when the same is engaged and elevated by the tongs 30. y

The longitudinally adjustable gripping member 35 isformed substantially in the shape and manner shown in Fig. 5, and is adapted to be concentrically and telescopically disposed at the inner end thereof Vfor longitudinal or axial adjustment Within the other or opposite end of the tubular hand hold 33, to` that of the pivotally mounted gripping member 34, while the outer end ot said gripping member 35 is provided with a downwardly extending jaw or box eng-aging portion 40, which portion is pr0- vided upon the lower end or terminal thereor with a claw 41, adapted to bite into the wood of the boxes 31 or 32, when the same are engaged and elevated.

The clamping screw 36 is adapted to iixedly secure or retain the adjustable grip-y ping member-'35 in any desired or selected longitudinally adjusted position within the tubular hand hold 33, said' clamping .screw is further adapted to be threadably engaged within a boss 42 formed upon the periphery ot the said tubular hand hold 33 at a point on said hand hold contiguous to the end thereof adapted to receive said gripping member35, as shown kmore clearly in Figs. 5 and'fG. It-will be apparent from the foregoing and referring to the drawings that the form j of adjustable box tongs 30 disclosed in Figs. 5 and 6 are readily adapted `tor handling boxes of varying lengths and sizes, thereby materially increasing the sphere of utilityv of said box tongs and rendering the same invaluable under varying conditions, and I have found in practice and after exhaustive tests and experimentation that tongs fabricated in accordance with myinvention are productive of the desired and maximum results in that muchtime and labor is con.-

served in handling and transporting'large number ot boxes. f

In use the operator applies the tongs 30 to the boxes 31 or 32 in a similar mannerto that hereinbefore described for the tongs 10.

From the foregoing description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings the advantages of construction-.and method ot operation of my box tongs will be readily apparent to those skilled yin Athe art to which my invention `pertains, but, while I have shown and described the construction and operation of box tongsembodying the features and principles of my invention, which I now consider to be ,the best embodiment thereof, I desire to have it understood that the box tongs shown are merely illustrative and that .such changes las may be made when desired as are within the scope of my invention and embodied in the accompanying claim.

What I ela-im is:

Boi: tongs comprising a relatively rigid gripping member, a downwardly extending claw portion formed upon the outer end of said member, a hand hold formed upon said member adjacent the inner end thereof, a movable gripping member hingedly mounted at the inner end thereof, a downwardly extending claw portion formed upon the outer end of said last namedmember, means Vto retain said last named member upon said irst named member, and means to limit the 15 closing movementJ oi said movable gripping member upon said rigid gripping member.,

In witness whereof, I hereunto subscribe my name this 26th day of December A. D.

BYRON PHELPS. 

